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Proper 17

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;let me never be put to shame;deliver me in your righteousness.2 Turn your ear to me,come quickly to my rescue;be my rock of refuge,a strong fortress to save me.3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,for the sake of your name lead and guide me.4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,for you are my refuge.5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.

6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;as for me, I trust in the Lord.7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,for you saw my afflictionand knew the anguish of my soul.8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemybut have set my feet in a spacious place.

9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;my eyes grow weak with sorrow,my soul and body with grief.10 My life is consumed by anguishand my years by groaning;my strength fails because of my affliction,[b]and my bones grow weak.11 Because of all my enemies,I am the utter contempt of my neighborsand an object of dread to my closest friends—those who see me on the street flee from me.12 I am forgotten as though I were dead;I have become like broken pottery.13 For I hear many whispering,“Terror on every side!”They conspire against meand plot to take my life.

14 But I trust in you, Lord;I say, “You are my God.”15 My times are in your hands;deliver me from the hands of my enemies,from those who pursue me.16 Let your face shine on your servant;save me in your unfailing love.17 Let me not be put to shame,Lord,for I have cried out to you;but let the wicked be put to shameand be silent in the realm of the dead.18 Let their lying lips be silenced,for with pride and contemptthey speak arrogantly against the righteous.

19 How abundant are the good thingsthat you have stored up for those who fear you,that you bestow in the sight of all,on those who take refuge in you.20 In the shelter of your presence you hide themfrom all human intrigues;you keep them safe in your dwellingfrom accusing tongues.

21 Praise be to the Lord,for he showed me the wonders of his lovewhen I was in a city under siege.22 In my alarm I said,“I am cut off from your sight!”Yet you heard my cry for mercywhen I called to you for help.

23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people!The Lord preserves those who are true to him,but the proud he pays back in full.24 Be strong and take heart,all you who hope in the Lord.

Psalm 35

Of David.

1 Contend,Lord, with those who contend with me;fight against those who fight against me.2 Take up shield and armor;arise and come to my aid.3 Brandish spear and javelin[a]against those who pursue me.Say to me,“I am your salvation.”

4 May those who seek my lifebe disgraced and put to shame;may those who plot my ruinbe turned back in dismay.5 May they be like chaff before the wind,with the angel of the Lord driving them away;6 may their path be dark and slippery,with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

7 Since they hid their net for me without causeand without cause dug a pit for me,8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—may the net they hid entangle them,may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.9 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lordand delight in his salvation.10 My whole being will exclaim,“Who is like you,Lord?You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,the poor and needy from those who rob them.”

11 Ruthless witnesses come forward;they question me on things I know nothing about.12 They repay me evil for goodand leave me like one bereaved.13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackclothand humbled myself with fasting.When my prayers returned to me unanswered,14 I went about mourningas though for my friend or brother.I bowed my head in griefas though weeping for my mother.15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.They slandered me without ceasing.16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;[b]they gnashed their teeth at me.

17 How long, Lord, will you look on?Rescue me from their ravages,my precious life from these lions.18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;among the throngs I will praise you.19 Do not let those gloat over mewho are my enemies without cause;do not let those who hate me without reasonmaliciously wink the eye.20 They do not speak peaceably,but devise false accusationsagainst those who live quietly in the land.21 They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha!With our own eyes we have seen it.”

22 Lord, you have seen this; do not be silent.Do not be far from me, Lord.23 Awake, and rise to my defense!Contend for me, my God and Lord.24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God;do not let them gloat over me.25 Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”or say, “We have swallowed him up.”

26 May all who gloat over my distressbe put to shame and confusion;may all who exalt themselves over mebe clothed with shame and disgrace.27 May those who delight in my vindicationshout for joy and gladness;may they always say, “The Lord be exalted,who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

Jeroboam Rebels Against Solomon

26 Also, Jeroboam son of Nebat rebelled against the king. He was one of Solomon’s officials, an Ephraimite from Zeredah, and his mother was a widow named Zeruah.

27 Here is the account of how he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the terraces[a] and had filled in the gap in the wall of the city of David his father.28 Now Jeroboam was a man of standing, and when Solomon saw how well the young man did his work, he put him in charge of the whole labor force of the tribes of Joseph.

29 About that time Jeroboam was going out of Jerusalem, and Ahijah the prophet of Shiloh met him on the way, wearing a new cloak. The two of them were alone out in the country,30 and Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he was wearing and tore it into twelve pieces.31 Then he said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘See, I am going to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand and give you ten tribes.32 But for the sake of my servant David and the city of Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, he will have one tribe.33 I will do this because they have[b] forsaken me and worshiped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Molek the god of the Ammonites, and have not walked in obedience to me, nor done what is right in my eyes, nor kept my decrees and laws as David, Solomon’s father, did.

34 “‘But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and who obeyed my commands and decrees.35 I will take the kingdom from his son’s hands and give you ten tribes.36 I will give one tribe to his son so that David my servant may always have a lamp before me in Jerusalem, the city where I chose to put my Name.37 However, as for you, I will take you, and you will rule over all that your heart desires; you will be king over Israel.38 If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by obeying my decrees and commands, as David my servant did, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.39 I will humble David’s descendants because of this, but not forever.’”

40 Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam, but Jeroboam fled to Egypt, to Shishak the king, and stayed there until Solomon’s death.

Solomon’s Death

41 As for the other events of Solomon’s reign—all he did and the wisdom he displayed—are they not written in the book of the annals of Solomon?42 Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.43 Then he rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son succeeded him as king.

Boasting About Tomorrow

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.”14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”16 As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.17 If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

Warning to Rich Oppressors

5 Now listen, you rich people, weep and wail because of the misery that is coming on you.2 Your wealth has rotted, and moths have eaten your clothes.3 Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days.4 Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty.5 You have lived on earth in luxury and self-indulgence. You have fattened yourselves in the day of slaughter.[a]6 You have condemned and murdered the innocent one, who was not opposing you.

22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it.24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.

25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him.26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.

27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left.[28] [a]29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,30 come down from the cross and save yourself!”31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself!32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.